Seven Things to Find Early in Dark Souls 2

Your early hours of Dark Souls 2 are a critical time, when you first come to terms with the abundant challenges of the kingdom of Drangleic. Taking on challenges in an optimal order really does relieve some of the stress and help you get off on a good footing. Below are seven people and items you should seek out early in the game to ease the arduous road ahead.

Looking for more? Check out the Tips, Tricks, and Tactics in our Starter Guide!

You need this badly. So, so badly. Here's why: whenever you die in Dark Souls 2, you become a little more Hollow. Hollowing reduces your max HP, and after a few deaths you'll find your available HP reduced by half. The only be able to recover your loss is through the use of Human Effigies, which are more precious than gold in the first sections of Dark Souls 2.

The Ring of Binding changes all of this. When worn as a Hollowed, it raises your maximum health to 75%...still a handicap, but the difference between life and death a dozen times over.

Killing the first seven knights is optional, but the eighth is an absolute necessity. Killing him raises a switch, which in lowers the drawbridge. A very quick character may be able to weave up the path, enter the great circular plaza guarded by three knights, take the exit to the left, dodge the two knights, run up the stairs, head left, and kill the waiting Knight, but extreme speed is required, as the knights following you will eventually overtake and overwhelm you. The difficulty of waiting for the switch and the drawbridge requires some very creative evasion.

The Cleric has a wide arsenal of spells available, as well as catalytic items. Moreover, talking with the cleric provides you with the necessary key to operate the Subterranean Contraption near Majula.

Estus Shards add uses to your Flask. The first one is a stone's throw away from the beginning of the game. Knock the stone perched on edge of the small well in Majula down the hole and a body will pop up. Hidden on it is an Estus Shard.

This is one of the most important encounters you'll have in the early game, and it's entirely possible to blow it. In the upper story of a house along the harbor, you'll find a rotund, helmeted merchant. He's important for two reasons. First, he sells valuable poison and anti-poison gear which some builds will find helpful. Secondly, he buys junk. You can sell unwanted items to this dude in exchange for souls.

However, there's a catch: he only lingers in this place for the length of a single visit. Talk to him and come back later, and he'll be gone. So don't approach him until you're loaded down with gear you don't need, and then cash in your junk for souls. (You will encounter him a second time at Harvest Alley when he moves from this place, so don't worry too much.)

At the far edge of No-Man's Wharf rests Calhillion the Sorcerer. To reach him, cross through the docks, head up the stairs into the town, turn right, then weave back down through the dock. He'll be at the far end of the pier.

Calhillion will sell you a Sorcerer's staff and a wide variety of spells.

The Pharros Lockstone is a vital item used to operate contraptions. Two stones are available in the early game, and you should gather each as soon as possible. The first is sold by the old woman near the Cardinal Tower Bonfire in The Forest of Fallen Giants.

The second is in the locked house in Majula, accessible via the House Key mentioned below. Pharros Stones open up secret ways and helpful devices. A Pharros Stone makes No-Mans Wharf much easier, and also unveils hidden treasures in the Forest of Fallen Giants.

A crawling man in a tunnel in the Forest of Fallen Giants carries a key to the locked house in Majula. Watch out for the boulder trap that appears just before encountering him.

You can find him in the hole across the large area of outdoor scaffolding below the long ladder. Turn left after entering the chamber across the pit, (be wary of the huge boulder) and talk with the man several times until he gives you the key.

The house is crammed with goods, including essential tools for a Respec, a Pharros Lockstone, and more. In the mansion, there is a basement area containing a chest and an unlit light guarded by a skeleton that will prove a challenge to new characters as it appears and moves quickly and has powerful, fast attacks.

One more thing: the Covetous Silver Serpent Ring +1 can be acquired from Old Hag Melentia at the Cardinal Tower bonfire in the Forest of the Fallen Giants after buying a certain number of items and talking to her. This ring can increase soul acquisition early in the game and make levelling up much easier.